For decorative and holiday purposes it is frequently desirable to display fresh cut trees, usually evergreens, in a natural upstanding manner. A portable tree stand is used to support the tree in a natural upstanding manner while holding a quantity of water in contact with the cut end to maintain freshness. Such tree stands are of two basic types: screw type stands which use screws to engage the trunk and support the tree, and cable type stands which use cables or guy elements to hold the tree upright. Cable-type stands are generally preferred for larger trees, although they work equally well with small trees.
A tree stand that uses cables to support a tree in an upright position must have cable attach points, i.e., anchor points, far enough from the tree to support the tree against tipping. At the same time, it is advantageous for such tree stands to hold a large amount of water in contact with the cut-end of the tree's trunk to reduce watering frequency. It is also desirable to minimize storage and transportation costs by designing tree stands to be nestable.
Current cable-type tree stands have relatively small water reservoirs, comprise multiple parts that require factory assembly, and are not nestable.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,629 to W. B. Merrill. This patent discloses a cable-type tree stand with a shallow bowl-type water reservoir, perched atop telescoping, laterally-extending support legs. The legs have anchor points at their outer ends for diagonally-extending guy elements in the form of tree support cables. The reservoir's water capacity is restricted by a small rim radius.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 248,804 to Budd; issued Aug. 8, 1978, discloses a cable type tree stand including a smoothly curved concave receptacle portion and a smoothly curved convex rim portion. Knotted cables anchor to the lowermost rim portion via holes. The smoothly curving, arch-like design of the receptacle and rim are required from a structural standpoint to resist stresses imposed by the cables. It would not be possible to redesign the Budd tree stand to contain more water, improve aesthetic appeal, or provide more structural rigidity while maintaining the same scale and materials expenditures.
There is a need for a cable type tree stand which can contain larger quantities of water than prior art stands without sacrificing structural integrity or increasing material costs, and which can take various aesthetically appealing designs not necessarily limited to stress resisting considerations.